The British florin, or two-shilling piece, was a coin worth 1⁄10 of one pound, or 24 pence. It was issued from 1849 until 1967, with a final issue for collectors dated 1970. It was the last coin circulating immediately prior to decimalisation to be demonetised, in 1993, having for a quarter of a century circulated alongside the ten-pence piece, identical in specifications and value.
The British threepence piece, usually simply known as a threepence, thruppence, or thruppenny bit, was a denomination of sterling coinage worth 1⁄80 of one pound or 1⁄4 of one shilling. It was used in the United Kingdom, and earlier in Great Britain and England. Similar denominations were later used throughout the British Empire and Commonwealth countries, notably in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
The guinea was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where much of the gold used to make the coins was sourced. It was the first English machine-struck gold coin, originally representing a value of 20 shillings in sterling specie, equal to one pound, but rises in the price of gold relative to silver caused the value of the guinea to increase, at times to as high as thirty shillings. From 1717 to 1816, its value was officially fixed at twenty-one shillings.
The half guinea gold coin of the Kingdom of England and later of Great Britain was first produced in 1669, some years after the Guinea entered circulation. It was officially eliminated in the Great Recoinage of 1816, although, like the guinea, it was used in quoting prices until decimalisation.
The crown was a denomination of sterling coinage worth a quarter of one pound. The crown was first issued during the reign of Edward VI, as part of the coinage of the Kingdom of England.
George Edward Kruger Gray was an English artist, best remembered for his designs of coinage and stained glass windows.
The British sixpence piece, sometimes known as a tanner or sixpenny bit, was a denomination of sterling coinage worth 1⁄40 of one pound or half of one shilling. It was first minted in 1551, during the reign of Edward VI, and circulated until 1980. The coin was made from silver from its introduction in 1551 until 1947, and thereafter in cupronickel.
The coins of the South African pound were part of the physical form of South Africa's historical currency, the South African pound. Prior to the Union of 1910, various authorities issued their own pounds, some as independent entities. After the Union but before 1923, coins in circulation were mostly British, but the coins of Paul Kruger's South African Republic remained in circulation. In 1923, South Africa began to issue its own coins, adopting coins that were identical in size and value to those used in Great Britain: 12 pence (12d) = 1 shilling (1s), and 20s = 1 pound (£1). On 14 February 1961, the Union of South Africa adopted a decimal currency, replacing the pound with the Rand.
The twenty-cent coin of the Australian decimal currency system was issued with conversion to decimal currency on 14 February 1966, replacing the florin which was worth two shillings, a tenth of a pound.
The threepence or threepenny bit was a denomination of currency used by various jurisdictions in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, valued at 1/80 of a pound or 1⁄4 of a shilling until decimalisation of the pound sterling and Irish pound in 1971. It was also used in some parts of the British Empire, notably Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
The florin is a coin issued for the New Zealand pound from 1933 to 1965, equal to two shillings or twenty-four pence. The coin features a kiwi on the reverse and the reigning monarch on the obverse. It was introduced in 1933 as part of the first issue of New Zealand pound coinage, due to shortages of British silver coins resulting from the devaluation of local currency relative to the pound sterling. A lengthy design process was further protracted due to differing proposed design motifs between the Royal Mint, supporting a reverse design featuring heraldic ships, and the Gordon Coates–appointed Coinage Committee's proposed kiwi design. This disagreement led to almost a dozen proposed designs and revisions before the finalised issue entered circulation in February 1934. Initially struck in silver by the Royal Mint to replace the previous imperial florin, it was struck in cupronickel from 1947 due to rising precious metal prices. While proposed as the base of a decimalised New Zealand coinage since the 1930s, the florin was ultimately replaced in 1967 by the coinage of the New Zealand dollar. Florins remained legal tender with a value of 20 cents until 31 October 2006.
Pre-decimal Australian coins arose when the Federation of Australia gave the constitutional power to Commonwealth of Australia to mint its own coinage in 1901. The new power allowed the Commonwealth to issue legal tender rather than individually through the six former British self-governing colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, and Western Australia.
The coins of the Australian dollar were introduced on 14 February 1966, although they did not at that time include the one-dollar or two-dollar coins. The dollar was equivalent in value to 10 shillings in the former currency.
The shilling, informally called a "bob", was a type of silver coinage issued by the Commonwealth of Australia, that circulated prior to the decimalisation of Australian coinage. The Australian shilling was derived from the British pre-decimal sterling pound system and was first issued following the passing of the Australian Coinage Act 1909, which established Australia's first formal currency system. The shilling was issued as part of Australia's silver coinage, which included the two-shilling (florin), the sixpence and the threepence. The shilling was minted from 1910 until 1963. During this period there was one significant modification to the design of the Australian shilling, the change in its reverse design, which occurred in 1938 when the design was altered from the Australian coat of arms (1910–1936) to the visage of a Merino ram's head (1938–1963).
The Australian sixpence circulated from 1910 up until the decimalisation of Australian Currency in 1966. The coins were initially minted in England; however, Australia began to mint their own from the year of 1916 at branches of the Royal Mint in Sydney and Melbourne. The coins which made up Australia's pre-decimal currency were identical to British currency in the characteristics of weight and size. The Coinage Act of 1909–1947, authorised the issue of Australian coins in the select denominations, including the sixpence. By 1916 all silver denominations, including the sixpence, could be minted at the Royal Mint branch in Melbourne. Unique Australian currency was created with decimalisation in 1966.
The first coinage of the New Zealand pound was introduced in 1933 in response to large-scale smuggling of prior British imperial coinage after devaluation of New Zealand exchange rates relative to the pound sterling and large influxes of other foreign coinage into circulation. The Coinage Act, 1933 outlined the weights and compositions of various denominations, out of which five silver issues entered circulation over the following year, after lengthy disagreement between rival coinage design committees. The copper penny and halfpenny entered circulation in 1940, corresponding to anniversary of the New Zealand centennial. An eighth denomination of coin, the five-shilling piece or crown, was produced solely through three commemorative issues. The first issue, the Waitangi crown, was produced in extremely limited quantities and sold to collectors. Later commemorative crown issues in 1949 and 1953 were produced for circulation.
The New Zealand shilling was first issued in 1933 alongside four other denominations of New Zealand pound coinage, introduced due to shortages of comparable British silver coinage following the devaluation of the New Zealand pound relative to the pound sterling. Roughly 24 mm in diameter, it is slightly larger than the British coin it replaced. Worth twelve pence, the denomination was equal to half a florin, two sixpence, or two-fifths of a half-crown.
The New Zealand threepence is a coin of the New Zealand pound issued from 1933 to 1965. Equal to three pence, the coin was the smallest in size of all New Zealand pound coinage and the smallest in denomination of the initial 1933 issue of New Zealand pound coinage, produced due to shortages of British silver coins resulting from the devaluation of local currency relative to the pound sterling. British artist George Kruger Gray designed the coin's reverse design after an earlier pattern design featuring a hei-tiki was rejected by a coinage design committee organised by Gordon Coates. It features two crossed patu below the label "3d". Initially struck in silver by the Royal Mint, it was struck in cupronickel from 1947 onward due to rising precious metal prices. Following decimalisation in 1967, the threepence was replaced by the coinage of the New Zealand dollar.
The New Zealand sixpence is a coin of the New Zealand pound issued from 1933 to 1965. Equal to twice a threepence or half a shilling, the sixpence was one of five denominations of silver coins introduced in the initial issue of New Zealand coinage in 1933. Early designs for the coin featuring spears and silver ferns were rejected by design committees in Britain and New Zealand. The coin's final reverse, designed by George Kruger Gray, features a female huia, an extinct New Zealand bird, perched atop a branch. Issued in 50% silver until a postwar rise in silver prices triggered a shift to cupronickel in 1947, the coin was minted with relative consistency until 1965, when it was discontinued following decimalisation and the adoption of the New Zealand dollar.
The half-crown is the largest of five denominations of New Zealand pound coinage first issued in 1933. Introduced due to shortages of comparable British silver coinage following the devaluation of the New Zealand pound relative to the pound sterling, the coin measures roughly 32 mm (1.3 in) in diameter. It was equal to thirty pence, two and a half shillings, or an eighth of a pound.
